The End of Freshman Year of College

Final meal at the dining hall

 Anna is officially done with her first year at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Joe and Theresa made the trip to Richmond May 7 to move her home.  They were hopeful that Anna would have her stuff ready to go when they arrived.  That was not the case.  A few notes about moving home from college:

  1. You always have more stuff than you initially brought.
  2. Brings some things home with you in advance that you don't need (e.g. winter clothes).
  3. Be clear about expectations at "pick up" time.

There was much packing to do when Joe and Theresa arrived with extra packing bags in tow (Joe even brought rope just in case the roof rack with needed).  After 4 hours and a stop in the cafeteria to use remaining meal swipes (also noting there are very limited options in the cafeteria during the last week), they managed to get everything packed into the car (no roof rack required) and headed back to Northern Virginia.  No trip up I-95 would be complete without a traffic back up and the normal 1hour and 50-minute trip took 2 1/2 hours on the way home.  All items are currently stacked in Anna's room.  Hopefully she will unpack them.

Farewell Gifts

The other big news is that Theresa's last day at work was May 2.  She is taking the deferred resignation program and will officially retire from Federal service on September 30.  It is a bittersweet occasion given the circumstances in the Federal government right now with massive firings and other departures.  Alas, it is good to have options and the opportunity to explore new things.  

In other news:

  • Theresa made it back for a quick visit to Ohio at the end of April.  One of the items on the "to do" list was getting the patio furniture out of storage, along with cleaning out some of the items in the storage area.  Grandma solved her challenge of getting into the truck by instead riding in the bed of the truck (no highway mileage required).
  • Theresa participated in "The Longest Table" in Vienna on May 3 with her friend Joy.  This is a pop-up potluck event where you are put into groups of 12.  The table captain comes up with a food theme and everyone brings something.  Theresa's table had a New Orleans theme with delicious dishes like, shrimp, red beans and rice, jambalaya, amazing salads - it was all delicious.  A total of 400 people attended the event, which was held outside on one of the Vienna streets.
  • Joe and Theresa joined friends Klara and Fefzi for a trip to the Glenstone Modern Art Museum in Maryland, a beautiful facility.  There is a waitlist of several months for the free tickets (thanks to Fefzi for getting them).  Well worth the trip.

Happy May!

Riding in the Truck

Afternoon at Glenstone


The Longest Table


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